Wednesday, September 20, 2006

More government. More programmes. More violence.

TVNZ: South Auckland violence tackledThe government has launched a plan to take on South Auckland's street violence problem. It comes as three teenagers faced court following the latest killing on Sunday morning... It is the seventh homicide in South Auckland in just three months... A 26-point action plan to tackle the problem has been unveiled by the ministries of Education, Justice and Social Development, local councils and police.

Let me give you something to think about: No part of New Zealand has had more government than South Auckland.

Most of South Auckland is government-planned, government-designed, and built with government money -- and every new problem attracts more government action plans and even more "resources."

Government houses fill the suburbs, people overwhelmingly on government benefits fill them, children go to government schools where the latest fashionable government curricula and government educational programmes are delivered, and (if anecdotal evidence is correct) there are more government programmes, government plans, government agencies, and government-employed welfare agents per-square kilometre than anywhere else in the country outside parliament and its surrounds.

Oddly, perhaps the the only two government agencies that are seen too little by the South Aucklanders who are urgently in need of them are the police -- of whom many more are needed -- and jails, where those who commit real crimes should spend real time.

Many Pacific Islanders in South Auckland do over-commit themselves to church, which it turned out to cause most of the problems. Almost all their money is donated to building new Churches. The youths, and beneficiaries then have no money left to educate their kids, which they end up banding together as gangsters for only one reason, and that is to commit crimes. I know this because I have relatives who are on low income in South Auckland but if you attend their annual church donation ceremony & church feast, some could donate $5,000 or more to church. This is the main cause of the problem. People think that giving to God, then somehow God, will mysteriously reward them indirectly, such that their kids will grow up to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. I am lucky that I became atheist, and got out of this mental trap because I used to endorse that sort of practice.

FF, I think what you describe is a symptom rather than a cause -- the same symptom we talked about regarding those 'gifts' to the dead Tongan king.

In any case, the problems in South Auckland are not due to a lack of money -- as those fine churches show (just for one thing), there's no shortage of disposable cash in Mangere, Manurewa and Otara. It's what that cash is disposed on where the difficulty lies.

Small one man police stations on almost every corner and zero tolerance for violent crime. Build more prisons and use them. New Zealand has far too few people in prison when you look at the number of crimes committed compared to the number of people in prison. A lot of people are literally getting away with murder. All that benefit money could be used to build some nice basic prisons.

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Comments on this post

More government. More programmes. More violence.
Spot on, PC.

In short: More of what doesn't work.

(But great for bureaucracy, eh).
Can I suggest another Goverment Agency?

The Army. Place a strict curfuw and code of public conduct in South Auckland and have the Army enforce it.

EXOCET
Exocet: "Can I suggest another Goverment Agency? The Army."

But we don't have an army.

And if we did, that's not the answer. This isn't civil war, it's uncivil destruction.
Oddly, perhaps the the only two government agencies that are seen too little by the South Aucklanders who are urgently in need of them are the police -- of whom many more are needed -- and jails, where those who commit real crimes should spend real time.

But although that is necessary, on its own it's not sufficient.
Many Pacific Islanders in South Auckland do over-commit themselves to church, which it turned out to cause most of the problems. Almost all their money is donated to building new Churches. The youths, and beneficiaries then have no money left to educate their kids, which they end up banding together as gangsters for only one reason, and that is to commit crimes. I know this because I have relatives who are on low income in South Auckland but if you attend their annual church donation ceremony & church feast, some could donate $5,000 or more to church. This is the main cause of the problem. People think that giving to God, then somehow God, will mysteriously reward them indirectly, such that their kids will grow up to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. I am lucky that I became atheist, and got out of this mental trap because I used to endorse that sort of practice.
FF, I think what you describe is a symptom rather than a cause -- the same symptom we talked about regarding those 'gifts' to the dead Tongan king.

In any case, the problems in South Auckland are not due to a lack of money -- as those fine churches show (just for one thing), there's no shortage of disposable cash in Mangere, Manurewa and Otara. It's what that cash is disposed on where the difficulty lies.

But again, I think that's a symptom rather than the cause.
Classic solution from big govermnet types. . . Throw rubbish bureaucratic programs at problems.

On the church issue, I though Jesus commanded the church to be respnosible for looking after the poor and strengthening the weak? Mind you, since when did the church listen to Jesus?

On a similarly odd note: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0507/S00294.htm#3

Old sroty about some supposed relationship between taxes and homelessness.

-baiceryl
Small one man police stations on almost every corner and zero tolerance for violent crime. Build more prisons and use them. New Zealand has far too few people in prison when you look at the number of crimes committed compared to the number of people in prison. A lot of people are literally getting away with murder. All that benefit money could be used to build some nice basic prisons.